Meet Lucia Gallipoli

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lucia Gallipoli. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lucia below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Lucia with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

This is going to sound very dramatic, but it is my truth: I am very scared of dying with regrets and think about the fact that I only get one life on an hourly basis… So admittedly, my work ethic comes from a place of anxiety. I have used it to my advantage though, I think! I have been struggling with OCD/anxiety as long as I can remember. From ages 13-21, my mental health and lack thereof was totally debilitating. But for years now, I’ve been on the same combination of meds that, for whatever reason, work very well for me, and that has truly changed my life. Now, I feel able to use my remaining — manageable — anxiety to motivate me. If I’m going to be thinking about how I could die at any given moment constantly, I might as well make it work for me!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m an artist and graduate student at the School of Visual Arts earning my MFA in fine arts. After graduating from Gallatin at New York University with a self-directed BA in love and minor in studio art, I started an Etsy shop, where I sold hand-built ceramics, still life paintings, and pet portraits. Eventually, my paintings started to center around the subject of textiles. I wanted to work with textiles themselves, but for some reason I didn’t realize I could actually use fabric as my medium. I was also longing to make work that was more conceptual. After painting the texture of fabric zoomed in to the point of abstraction for a few months, I started embroidering doll dresses with bittersweet sayings. Although I’d minored in studio art during undergrad, I had never had a dedicated community to bounce ideas off of. I dedicated to apply graduate school, which was genuinely terrifying at the time, but one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! I’m currently in my final semester out of four at SVA, and the previous three semesters have radically improved the way I think about and make art. Being in grad school gave me the time to teach myself how to sew with a machine, which is mostly what my practice centers around today! It finally just feels right to me.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Sensitivity, neuroses, and my personal lifelong interest in all things cute. To some, these qualities seem childish, but I think they have made my work relatable. Lean into what makes you you!

Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?

I’m always hoping my work finds people who connect with it. It seems like usually that means that their disposition is like mine in that they feel everything strongly.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.luciagallipoli.com/
• Instagram: hottiedearest